Rudolph "Rudi" Bronner (27 September 1890 – 17 January 1960) was an Australian executive, National controller of talks for the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

(later Corporation).

History

Bronner was the second son of Carl or Charles Bronner ( – 26 February 1944) and his first wife Marian or Marion "Marie" Bronner née Schmidhauser (died 10 April 1903). :Charles Bronner was born in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, Switzerland and emigrated to South Australia with his wife in 1877. He joined the Education Department in 1880, taught at Melrose, Teatree Gully and Norwood before matriculating and qualifying for a Teacher's Certificate 1A. He then had charge of schools at

Lyndoch Lyndoch is a town in Barossa Valley, located on the Barossa Valley Highway between Gawler and Tanunda, 58 km northeast of Adelaide. The town has an elevation of 175m and an average rainfall of 560.5mm. It is one of the oldest towns in Sou ...

and

Laura Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...

. In 1896 Charles Bronner was appointed headmaster of Goodwood Primary (later Central) School, a post he held, on and off, for a total of 22 years. He married again, on 24 December 1907, to (Frances) May Shaw, née Hussey. Charles had six children by Marian and two by May. Their home for many years was "Helvetia", Victoria Street, Goodwood. Bronner was born in Lyndoch and educated at St Peter's College and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, where he graduated BA in 1912, then Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Philosophy and Social Sciences, and befriended

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

. While in England he married Pauline Berkeley Bartels, also from Adelaide. He enlisted with the

London Rifle Brigade The London Rifle Brigade was a volunteer regiment of the British Army. History The regiment was first raised in the City of London on 14 December 1859 as 1st London (City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade) Rifle Volunteer Corps, a rifle volunt ...

on 26 April 1917 and served in Europe, where he was wounded but able to remain with his unit until cessation of hostilities. On his return to Adelaide he lectured for the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

then in 1921 was appointed assistant director of tutorial classes,

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 1928 he moved to Germany, where at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

he studied under Professor Heussel and lectured as Reader in English, and developed an abiding love of the German language and its literature. Bronner returned to Adelaide in 1934, and in September 1935 was appointed to the staff of the Australian Broadcasting Commission as assistant controller of talks, which became a National appointment in 1935 and moved to Sydney, where in 1937 he was appointed Federal controller of broadcasts to schools, a function which had previously been State-based. Bronner retired in 1955 and died after a series of strokes, and was cremated.

Family

Bronner married Pauline Berkeley "Pauli" Bartels (1894– ) in England on 7 April 1917. She was a daughter of

Adolph Bartels Adolph Heinrich Friedrich Bartels (29 July 1819 – 9 November 1878) was a German-born Australian politician. He was Mayor of Adelaide 1871–1873. History Bartels was born in Gilten, Hannover. He grew up in humble circumstances, and trained ...

, Adelaide businessman and mayor. They had one daughter: *Elizabeth Pauline Berkeley Bronner (1919– ) married Donald Malcolm Reid in Sydney on 6 August 1940. She held a pilot's licence at 18 Donald was a grandson of Adelaide businessman

Malcolm Reid Malcolm Donald Reid (1857 – 16 March 1933) was a South Australian timber merchant and businessman, founder of several furniture stores that bore his name. History Malcolm Donald Reid was born in Adelaide to John Harper Reid (c. 1829 – 25 Septe ...

."elder son of Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm P. Reid. Marrayatville". Elizabeth and Donald had a daughter in 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronner, Rudolph 1890 births 1960 deaths Australian public servants Australian Broadcasting Corporation executives Australian people of Swiss descent Academic staff of the University of Melbourne University of Adelaide alumni Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I London Rifle Brigade soldiers